30 detained in fishing operation

The Tromsø / Finnmark news from 29 and 30 October 2026 is dominated by a major police operation in the fishing industry: 30 people were detained, seven placed in preliminary custody and eight police districts mobilised. On the energy front, Sametinget has announced that it is taking the case on the electrification of Melkøya to the Supreme Court, and the city of Bodø has voted to sell its shares in the grid operator Arva to Troms Kraft for 1.4 billion kroner. Troms og Finnmark county — now divided into two separate counties, Troms and Finnmark — is also affected by a disputed wind farm project in Lebesby and by the mobilisation of nearly 7,000 pupils for OD-dagen.

Tromsø / Finnmark news: thirty arrests in the fishing industry

Økokrim presented on Thursday 29 October the results of a police operation described as “alvorlig kriminalitet i et kriminelt nettverk” — serious crime within a criminal network — in the Norwegian fishing industry. Thirty people were detained: seven were placed in preliminary custody for four weeks, including two in isolation, while the other 23 were questioned and then released. None of the seven detained persons admits guilt. More than twenty companies are involved in the investigation, according to Økokrim, which says it made significant seizures and secured assets worth around one hundred million kroner (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

The suspicion concerns systematic cheating when the fish is delivered ashore, involving both the declared species, the size and the weight. “I am simply shocked,” says the political editor of Fiskeribladet, Øystein Hage, who recalls that rumours had been circulating in the sector for a long time (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark). Eight police districts were mobilised for the operation.

Energy: Melkøya heads to the Supreme Court, Arva sold to Troms Kraft

Sametinget has decided to take to the Supreme Court the decision of the Borgarting Court of Appeal on the electrification of Melkøya. On 15 October, the Court of Appeal had rejected the Sami assembly's appeal in the case relating to the Hammerfest LNG terminal in Finnmark. “We know that it is not certain the Supreme Court will agree to hear the case. We have a clear view of what another round of proceedings could cost,” says Muotka (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

In Bodø, the city council voted on Thursday 29 October, by 23 votes to 16, to sell all the municipality's shares in the grid operator Arva to Troms Kraft. The municipality will retain 1.4 billion kroner before costs. The sum is intended partly to finance the purchase of land owned by the state when the current Bodø airport is closed and converted into a new district. Opposing councillor Synnøve Pettersen (SV) called the vote the council's “most irresponsible decision,” while acting mayor Ida Gudding Johnsen (V) defended a responsible choice given the documents submitted to the elected members (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

Lebesby: a wind farm on the snowy owl's territory

Fine lines on a map show the positions recorded by satellite for snowy owls fitted with transmitters. One area stands out clearly: the Vuonjalrášša plateau in Lebesby, Finnmark, where Norway's largest wind farm is to be built. “This is a hotspot for the snowy owl,” says Ingar Jostein Øien, scientific adviser at Birdlife Norge, for whom development in this location would be catastrophic (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

The birds fly high without hesitation, and the rotors can strike them; kilometres of construction roads and human presence constitute, according to him, another threat. “The snowy owl is a shy bird and takes flight very easily when people approach, sometimes from several hundred metres away,” he says (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark). The case has already been rejected twice by municipal decisions, which were subsequently overturned.

Nearly 7,000 Troms pupils mobilise for OD-dagen

On Thursday, nearly 7,000 pupils from upper secondary schools and colleges in Troms took part in Operasjon Dagsverk, working for a day to raise funds for a cause outside their own lives. At the Bardufoss videregående canteen, Hauk Bakken learns to produce food in large quantities: “I like cooking. It's interesting to find out how you prepare food for a lot of people,” he says (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

At the Målselv health centre, Aurora Rognli discovers a profession she may perhaps pursue later: “It's very good. You learn a lot” (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark).

📌 Local briefs

A road accident involving a vehicle occurred on Thursday in the early afternoon on the E6 in Nordreisa; an air ambulance was dispatched to the scene and one person was injured, with the road subsequently reopened (NRK Tromsø / Finnmark). A car fire was reported on the E6 (iFinnmark, 29 October). A man is suspected of having threatened police with a pitchfork, a baseball bat and a chainsaw (iFinnmark, 30 October). In Tromsø, police intervened at an Airbnb host's property, and the host is now seeking compensation (iTromsø, 29 October).

Sources: NRK Tromsø / Finnmark, Nordlys, iTromsø, iFinnmark, The Local Norway — Period: 29 October 2026 and 30 October 2026